Hi, I'm Todd Schimelpfenig. I'm the curriculum director for the wilderness medicine institute at NOLS.
We are going to shoot an educational video here today to demonstrate
our patient assessment system and then our focused spine assessment,
our tool for gathering information and making a decision about whether we need to continue
spine immobilization in a patient who's got a spine mechanism of injury.
We've got a beautiful day here at zero degrees fahrenheit outside,
so we are going to be able to demonstrate how we do this,
manage the cold, keep the patient in a sleeping bag, zip and unzip layers,
deal with our hands and body substance isolation, and gloves in a real winter environment.
We hope you enjoy the video.
You can totally climb this.
No, I can't do this.
Do it. I bet you can. You climb harder than this all the time.
This is just like a 5.Tree.
Oh yeah, you totally got it.
Oh yeah, go big, go big!
I did it!
Oh Jeeze! Charlie! Are you okay?
Uh. I think so.
Okay, that was quite a fall. I'm going to go get help. Lay still and don't move. >>Okay.
This is my buddy. He fell out of the tree up there and landed on his back.
From all the way up there? Like 10 or 15 feet?
Okay. The scene looks safe to me. I just see him. Is there anybody else who is hurt?
No. Nobody else.
I have gloves in my pocket. Do you have gloves as well? >> I've got gloves in my pocket.
Hi Charlie. I'm Shana. I'm wilderness EMT and a friend of Travis'. Can we help you?
Yes.
Great. And you remember Travis?
Yup.
What's your last name Charlie?
Manganiello.
And what happened to you? >> I was up in the tree and I just fell down.
Can you open your mouth and stick out your tongue?
Did you bite your tongue? Do you feel like you have any broken teeth? >> No.
Any food or gum in your mouth? >> No.
Okay. Take a big deep breath for me.
Is that painful or difficult?
No.
Im going to go ahead and just see if I can find a pulse here at your wrist.
You are nice and warm and you have a good strong pulse. Do you feel like you are bleeding anywhere?
No not at all.
Okay, do you mind if I get underneath this waterproof layer and I double check?
Go ahead.
Okay. I'm just going to reach my hands in underneath these clothes.
Okay. No blood.
I'm just going to reach my hands down the side of your pants. Okay?
Okay.
I'm not finding any obvious blood.
Charlie, I'm just going to peel back your hat for a second.
So no obvious bleeding.
You took a pretty big fall, Charlie, so what we are going to do is keep you stabilized until we can do more assessment, okay? >> Okay.
Is there anything that is hurting you right now?
No.
Okay Travis. Let's consider E, expose and the environment.
He's not complaining of any injury, so there is nothing for us to expose,
and though it is cold outside, the environment does not pose an immediate threat to life
so we'll attend to getting him off the snow after we've completed a head to toe exam.
I'm just going to peak inside your ear. Nothing coming out.
No bruising back there.
Go ahead and bite down. Does it hurt your jaw at all?
Not at all.
Okay great.
I'm going to move your glasses for just a minute. Close your eyes. Open up your eyes.
Pupils look round, equal, and reactive to light.
I'm going to unzip you one more time and take a look at your neck.
I don't see any obvious injury. You don't wear any medical alert necklaces, bracelets, anklets, do you?
No.
I'm going to check your shoulders. How does that feel?
Fine. >> Here? Good.
I'm going to put my hands right up in your armpits. Take a big deep breath.
Any pain?
No.
Second one.
Any pain?
Nope.
Final one.
No pain? Okay great. Do me a favor and point to your belly button.
Alright I'm going to press on your belly.
Anything uncomfortable?
Nope.
Check your pelvis. Is there any reason I need to check your genitals? Did you injure them on the fall?
I don't think so.
Legs feel good?
Yup.
Go ahead and push down on the gas. Pull up for me.
Im gonna go ahead and unlace and loosen up your boots so I can reach my fingers in there. Okay?
Okay.
Okay Charlie. Both of your feet feel warm to me. Do they feel warm to you?
Yes.
Can you tell me what side of your foot I am touching?
The inner side or right side.
On which foot?
The left foot.
How about here? Can you tell me what I am pinching?
The right big toe.
Okay great. So we have good circulation, sensation and motion in his feet.
I'm going to leave your shoes undone because eventually we are going take those boots off and get you into a warm sleeping bag. Okay? Okay.
Let me finish up with your arms.
Give my fingers a squeeze.
Good. Wiggle your fingers.
Your hands feel nice and warm to me. Do they feel warm to you?
Yes.
Nice strong pulse.
So good circulation, sensation, and motion in the hands as well.
So I think what I would like to do Travis is let's roll him up on his side and check his back
and we'll get him back on a pad and a sleeping bag when we do that.
So Travis, what I want to do is roll him up on his side.
Let's make sure we roll him a little more than vertical so we can get all of this packaging underneath him.
I'm going to zip your jacket, Charlie, so that I can feel along your spine.
I'm going to take your shoes off so that when we get you back down we can get your feet tucked into that sleeping bag.
Does that work for you?
Yes.
So I'm going to unzip this one all the way.
And this one as well because I think I can feel through this fairly thin layer.
Your job, Charlie, is to give yourself a big hug.
Okay excellent.
And can you cross this right foot over your left leg?
Okay, we are going to go on your count.
We will go on my three.
One, two, three.
So Charlie, I'm just going to walk my fingers down your spine.
You tell me if I cause you any discomfort
or if i'm not on your spine.
Am I still on your spine?
Yes.
No pain?
No pain.
I'll check the rest of your back.
Good? >> Good.
Okay, on your count, Travis.
One, two, three.
Can you bend this knee for me, Charlie? Actually bend both of them.
Great.
I'll take this boot off.
Go ahead and bend your knees a little bit more.
Let's get your feet tucked in here.
Go ahead and rest your legs on this bag to
get them off the snow.
Is that comfortable for you?
Yup.
Alright, so Travis, on the head to toe exam I didn't find any pain, any obvious wounds, or deformities.
How about vital signs?
His vitals look great at 1/12.
He was awake and oriented to who he is,
where he is, what time of day it is, and what the events were leading up to his fall.
His heart rate was 76 strong and regular.
His respiratory rate was 16 regular and unlabored. His skin was a little pale, but warm and dry.
Okay.
And his pupils were equal and reactive to light.
His pupils were equal, round and reactive to light?
Okay, great.
So Charlie, we have a couple more questions to ask you.
Do you have a chief complaint right now?
Is there anything that's hurting you?
No.
So you took a fall of about 15 feet. That's what we understand.
Is that what you understand?
Yes, yes.
So you have no complaints. No symptoms that you are feeling?
You are not tired, hungry, nauseous, headache?
Anything like that?
None.
Okay. Are you allergic to anything like medications?
I'm allergic to sulfur drugs.
Okay. Have you had any today?
No.
Okay what happens when you take sulfur drugs?
Hives and rash.
Are you allergic to any animals?
No.
Foods?
Nope.
Do you take any prescription medications?
No.
How about over the counter medications?
Just Advil when I have a sore ankle or leg or if I hurt myself.
Okay, have you had any Advil today?
No.
Do you take any herbal medications or supplements?
No.
Okay. How about any alcohol or drugs today?
No.
Okay great.
So symptoms, allergies, medications ... past medical history. Do you have any problems with your heart?
No.
How about your breathing?
No.
How about belly stuff? Like ulcers?
Nope.
Ever had a seizure?
No.
Are you diabetic?
Nope.
Have you ever hurt your spine or your head before from a fall?
Never.
Okay great. No pertinent medical history.
What's the last thing you had to eat, Charlie?
I had a sandwich at lunch.
At lunch.
So right now it's about one o'clock so do you eat lunch at noon or 11?
Right around noon.
How about fluid intake today? What have you had?
Just coffee in the morning and a glass of water with lunch.
Okay, how much exercise have you been doing today?
Not much at all.
So is that a pretty typical amount of fluid for you?
Yes.
Okay great. Then urination today?
About mid-morning.
Okay, normal for you?
Yes.
Okay. Defecation? Same question.
No. Not yet.
Okay. Normal though?
Yes.
Great. So last ins and outs and events.
We got the fact that you fell out of the tree.
Did anything cause you to fall out of the tree?
Did you get dizzy or did you slip?
I just slipped on the snow.
Slipped on the snow. Okay.
Anything unusual in the last 24 hours we need to be aware off?
No.
Great sample history. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?
No. That sounded good to me.
Okay. I do you have one last question. How old are you Charlie?
I am 25 years old. Thanks.
So at this point we have a full physical exam.
We have a full set of vital signs and a good medical history
and I have no evidence right now that he
has any signs or symptoms of an injury to his spine.
If we were in town we would maintain spinal stabilization and wait for medical help to arrive.
However, since we were in the wilderness, it is appropriate for us to utilize the focused spine assessment
to make a decision about immobilization.